The Impact of European AI Regulation: Governance and Strategic Responses in Switzerland and South Korea

This research project explores how the EU AI Act and its related measures are influencing the development of AI governance, regulation, and strategy in non-European countries, with a focus on Switzerland and South Korea. Both nations are at the forefront of IT innovation. Switzerland, despite not being an EU member, maintains close ties with the EU through bilateral agreements and partial access to the single market, while South Korea, though geographically and politically distant, engages with the EU through strategic partnerships and trade relations.

The project seeks to understand how the EU AI Act impacts national AI discourses in these two countries. It will analyze the discourses and imaginaries being shaped around AI governance, identify the key proponents of these discourses, such as government agencies, advisory bodies, and private industry leaders, and compare the strategies employed to adapt to or diverge from the EU's regulatory framework. In terms of temporality, it distinguishes three periods: before 2019, 2019-2023 (marked by the Coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent economic recovery plans), and after 2024 (characterized by the emergence of AI services based on Large Language Models and the endorsement of the European AI Act).

The methodology involves qualitative documentary analysis of policy documents, white papers, reports published by government bodies and advisory institutions, and media coverage of these elements. This will be conducted both manually and through computational textual analysis techniques such as text mining and topic modeling. These methods will help identify recurring themes, dominant narratives, and strategic differences between Switzerland and South Korea in their adaptation to or divergence from EU AI regulations, offering insights into how the EU’s regulatory influence affects AI governance in regions both near and far.